Language Centre Resources

Maasai (Masai, or ɔl Maa)

Maasai is one of the Eastern Nilotic group of Nilo-Saharan languages. It is a major language of Kenya and Tanzania: approx. 800,000 speakers in all - (over 350,000 speakers in Southern Kenya and over 350, 000 speakers in Northern Tanzania).

The Maasai people (Kenya's most well-known ethnic tribe) speak Maasai, a language closely related to Samburu (or Sampur), the language of the Samburu people of central Kenya, and to Camus spoken south and southeast of Lake Baringo. The Maasai, Samburu and Camus people are historically related and all refer to their language as Maa or ɔl Maa, although they acknowledge mutual cultural and economic differences. Most Maasai also speak Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa.